More Muscle from the Shoals: Arthur Conley Sweet Soul Music

Sweet Soul Music was Arthur Conley's first album. Conley was an Otis Redding protege and Redding produced this album.  Half the album was recorded at Stax in Memphis with the MGs and the other half at FAME in Muscle Shoals with The Swampers.

I recently found an almost immaculate copy of the original US vinyl pressing in a store in Brisbane.  While I had a CD version in an Atlantic Soul collection there was no way it was going to stay in that shop.

From its opening horns played by the Memphis Horns - making you think you are in for some sort of western soundtrack music  the album kicks off with the fantastic title track.  Then its into an early Dan Penn Spooner Oldham track - Take Me (Just as I am).  It is such an early collaboration that Spooner is still calling himself Linden.  There is one other Dan Penn number and the remainder were either written by Conley, Otis Redding or the both of them together.  You can see why Otis liked Arthur so much.  I can not really find a bad thing about this album and it is sad that Arthur never went on to the fame that his mentor did and hoped he would have.

But we can be thankful he left us this.